All printers implement some data transformation that converts pixels in sRGB (or in any other color space) to drops on paper, and ultimately to printed objects of a given colorimetry. This transformation is done following a set of requirements intended to provide the desired image quality, printing speed or any other attribute.
This transformation is achieved by a plurality of pipeline stages which transform a continuous tone image (usually RBG, 24 bits per pixel) to a halftone image (usually CMYK).